Imagine yourself in Central Park one million years ago. You would be standing on a vast
ice sheet, a 4,000-mile glacial wall, as much as 2,000 feet thick. Alone on the glacier,
you would not sense its slow crushing, scraping, ripping movement as it advanced
south, leaving great masses of rock debris in its wake. Under the frozen depths, where
the carousel now stands, you would not notice the effect on the bedrock as the glacier
dragged itself along.” – artist Robert Smithson, 1972
1) What does it feel like knowing that so much ice used to be here, but is now gone?
Is it hard or easy to imagine this site being so different?
I feel the heaviness of the history. Once I thought about the ice, I feel like drowning. There is that image in my head that everything becomes blue and was frozen. It is not hard for me to imagine this site in the ice age, because I accept the fact of history. I know ice age since I was in elementary school, so I’ve long accepted the fact. Also, the movie Ice Age left a strong impression, so it’s not hard to imagine.
2) What sights, sounds, smells, structures and materials around you provide evidence of
the Anthropocene?
I walked into the park and stood in front of the rock for about twenty minutes. Tourists walked pass by me with their excitement. Leafleteers squeezed into the crowd and tried everything to give out their flyers.
Carters with their horses, the construction site two blocks away, even the lamp along the pathway harmonized into the same space. These are all evidence from different time period of Anthropocene.
3) Do you feel like you have contributed to material realities that indicate the arrival of the Anthropocene? How/why/when?
I definitely have. At this moment as I’m writing with my mechanical pencil (I was handwriting the note when I was at the park), I’m using a material that cannot be decomposed into nature. Plastic was thought to be the greatest invention of 20th century, but people only notice its harm until 21th century. However, people still use it. I still use it… The only thing I can do is to make sure it last longer.
4) Do you think the public should be aware of the Anthropocene?
I think public should not be aware of the Anthropocene, the concept of this time period, but be aware of our action. Anthropocene is just a term people invented to classify time. We can make our knowledge purer. I feel like human beings always want to control everything. We do research on every species trying to classify them, so that we KNOW everything. Although we may be the most civilized species on the earth ever, we are not the government or spectator. We are involved in all the activities that happen on this planet. If there is any bad that may happen in the future, we won’t be exception but stand together with our object of study (other species we study). Therefore, instead of trying to define something in huge scale that is abstract, we should be more aware of those little things that are closer to our daily life but could have bigger impact.
5) What kind of climates do you think are possible in New York City’s future?
(Souses from my NYC 2050 post) The temperature would be higher. Due to the deglaciation, the precipitation will increase. Sea level would rise and increase the risks of coastal flooding. In addition, the weather would be more irregular. Summer may be hotter and winter may be colder.
Long life design: Three possible objects
List three design/object ideas + sketches for your final project. Describe each idea, thinking through what you think will need and use over the next fifty years, given what you have learned in this class (a result of the great acceleration/climate change)? Describe how each of these designs/objects/ideas would help you (or make your life more easy, beautiful, useful etc.)? How might these ideas might meet the Long Life Design criteria? What systems and materials are they reliant upon in order to exist? Are these systems threatened by climate change?
1 Dumpling
This is a slightly bigger sized dumpling. To save more time and nutrients, the stuffing (for example vegetables) doesn’t have to be chopped into very small dices. The dumpling skin is thicker and harder than a usual dumpling. Maybe it doesn’t have to be a dumpling shape, it can be a pancake shape. It will be convenient for students or people who work in office that don’t have enough time to cook everyday. All you need is to make a lot of them and store them in the refrigerator when you have time. To cook it, you put water and the dumplings into a pot or a wok and then boil them together. It saves time and make sure you have balanced nutrient. The basic materials are flour, vegetable, meat and some basic seasonings. As long as people still get energy by eating food, this design could last for at least 50 years. And you can add whatever you want as the stuffing. It includes the whole farming system and yourself, if you are the one who make dumplings. These systems are quite stable.
3 Snacks holder
I got this idea while I was doing my homework on my laptop and eating crackers at the same time. I have to use one hand to type, and another hand to crab the snacks. If I lay the snack bag on the desk, the snacks will drop crumbs when I deliver it to my mouth. This garment functions as a snack holder and a pajama. The hoodie is bigger than a usual sized hoodie, so that the snack bags fit in it. When you don’t need the hoodie, you can turn it to the back and wear it as a pajama. (I haven’t decided if I should make a t-shirt or long-sleeve hoodie) The material is knit fabric.The lining in the hoodie will be nylon or other waterproof fabrics. If it is ripped, I can patch it. The patches won’t affect its aesthetic since it is supposed to wear at home. I’m not sure if I will continue eating snacks after 50 years, but I can give this garment to other child when I grow old.
2 Blanket Case
This is a double layered blanket case. The bottom edge are attached. The outer layer will protect the inner layer. The inner layer will protect the original blanket. The material will be soft cotton woven fabric. It’s very personal to me, so no more explanation. It will fit the criteria because I know it will last very long and I can fix it by either hand sewing or machine sewing.
